Kinomenclature: An analysis of scientific names of mud dragons (Kinorhyncha)

Abstract

The coining of new species names is one of the most creative processes in science. Scientific names must be unique and stable over time to allow researchers to communicate knowledge on species unambiguously worldwide. Despite the importance of biological nomenclature, few studies analyze nomenclatural trends, which can offer interesting information. In the present paper, we explore different trends in naming Kinorhyncha species over time to answer questions related to kinorhynch nomenclatural acts, compare trends among the different specialists and discuss possible suggestions for future species discoveries. We focus on detecting the main practices followed by the phylum specialists when coining new specific names, temporal trends in the used language and etymological basis for creating the names and differences between author preferences. It is interesting that not all Kinorhyncha names correspond to valid species, although the proportion of not accepted and uncertain names is low. On the other hand, the usage of classical languages (Latin and Greek) remains temporarily stable when coining species names, but other modern languages such as English, Spanish, Danish and Japanese are on the rise, partly due to the nationality of the current kinorhynchologists. Regarding the etymological basis, a replacement of traditional categories (morphology, geography) by eponyms has not been detected, even though the usage of the latter has significantly increased in recent years. Finally, since the creation of names is undoubtedly subjective, personal trends among the authors are obvious, each one following their own style and preferences.